Old Gold

Meet my new Pals!

October 19, 2016; Wednesday; Dignity Foundation, Powai

So, last year December, I retired from my service as a Therapy Dog, and got a back seat to train the little pups and share my life experiences with the newbies. Since then, I have been mostly enjoying my time going out on drives with my human family, enjoying the view sitting near the windows, welcoming everyone who visited us, sharing a happy tail every time they petted me, and sometimes, even correcting my little therapy dogs, to behave like one! Ah! Retirement, what a beautiful feeling, it is!

It’s not usual to have my human trainers choose me for any of the sessions they undertake these days. So its mostly Pepe, Pearl, Sunshine, Myshka and Moshe who go along wagging their tails of joy! So happy and proud I feel to be shaping these babies into Therapy Dogs!

So I was saying, that I do not attend any sessions after my retirement, but when came an opportunity, I gladly and excitedly took it up! I winked at my baby bunch, and marched out of the house, with Aakash. Can you guess what was that I was all this excited about today? Okay, let me keep you hanging there a bit.

Aakash, my trainer and my family, chose to get me in the car today, to take me for a session. He kept it a secret from me too! So while he drove us, I started guessing it to him,

“Must be special kids that I’d be interacting with today!”, said I, full of excitement.

“Nope”, denied Aakash, as he drove.

“The airport pax?”

“Haha! No!!”

“Hmmm…who is it then?”

“Someone you’ll definitely love! You’ll soon know!”, stopped Aakash at a huge building in Powai.

My curiosity was building up all the more, as we climbed up, closer. And there we were! Voila!! It was at Dignity Foundation!! There were humans, my age!! Yayy!!

Aakash introduced the human bunch to me, and I introduced myself to them, “Hello! I am Goldie, 11 years, and 77 years in human age!” and I smiled with a wagging tail. Such a great feeling to meet humans of my age! They welcomed me with wide smiles and love! A couple of them raised their hands with joy and said we three shared the same age! Haha! What fun it is to be back to sessions! I looked up happily at Aakash, and we couldn’t keep smiles off our faces.

My new pals sat on a chair and all of us chatted for a little while.

“How is your retirement, Goldie?”, asked one of them.

“Fun and peaceful”, said a happy me.

“Who’s your favorite Therapy Dog?”

“Ummm…that’s a tricky one. Actually, I love them all”.

“Why are you sitting in one place? Why don’t you roam around like other dogs do?”

“You see, I am old now, and it’s a little difficult to keep up with everyone’s spirit”.

“Oh! Do you have joint pain, like us?”

“Oh, yes! But I play to stay fit”.

 

“You’re just like us!” And I smiled at them. We related to each other. The pain, the love, the age, everything. And the chat went on for sometime. We realized that we shared so many common things. But not all us was happy, some shared their bitter pasts of their children abandoning them and some lost their spouses. I could feel their sorrow, and I was determined to make them happy for the time we were together, so I shared my experiences, stories from my life and my journey. How I have seen people abandon their parents and kids, which made them sad. While we spoke of the sorrows, I spoke to them about so much that life has given us, and that we should be thankful to each of the things and the beings. Cherish your present, is something we Therapy Dogs always believe and practice. Be happier than ever, live in the moment, give others a reason to smile.

Just the way I have told every little Therapy Dogs, I told my old human pals,

• Take care of your health,
•  Trust people,
•   Be loyal,
•  Get yourself some playtime, throw-a-ball,
• Treat age as just a number,
• Don’t hold grudges, but welcome everyone and everyday with equal happiness and love,

•  And most of all, Stay happy, for yourself, and for others

We bonded as we spoke, age does make people bond faster, relate faster. I realized, that even though they were in physical and emotional pain, they came down to my level, and petted me, empathized with me; since they knew I had problems in getting up each time they called me.

Oh! It’s two hours already! How time flies! It was time to greet my pals a bye for now! I really enjoyed interacting with my pals, sharing their experiences and mine, being loved and petted, and just being us! How excited was I to be back on field! J

Hoping Aakash gives me another such surprise soon, real soon J

Written by Sneha Lonkar

To know more about me and my teams work, log on to www.animalangels.org.in

The Interns

We doggies are often called ‘man’s best friends’. But in many heartwarming cases, ‘Man’ has turned out to be our best friend. Many of us  are lucky to have stable and loving families, but for others, life is full of abandonment and uncertainty. Being given up by your family, being abandoned as a puppy, is the most emotionally painful thing for a dog to experience. But many such doggies, do get a second chance when an ‘angel’, a ‘good human’, picks them up and makes them a part of their loving family. Love is all we need after all. To tell you just how much it can change our lives, here are the stories of 3 of my interns - Myshka, Pearl and Milo.

Therapy dog Myshka

Myshka, Milo and Pearl are my interns. They are young dogs, in-training under me to become therapy dogs. They are being groomed by me to learn the finer nuances of how a therapy dog should behave. But Oh My God! right now they are just a bunch of high energy kids, who just want to play and get into trouble. Myshka is the eldest, but still thinks she’s a puppy. Pearl looks like a mature young dog, but is the one who will silently chew up a charger or a sofa, or provoke Milo to misbehave. Milo or Monkey as he is fondly called, is the youngest and the naughtiest of all. He is outrightly a brat!! But they all have golden hearts, with potential to heal the hearts of those in need. Only if they can focus, and learn! I understand their free spiritedness and know that this sense of freedom and security has come to them after a long time. Coming from foster homes and neglected families, they found their way to Animal Angels family who gave them a second chance.

Myshka, a female fawn Lab with light brown eyes and a pinkinsh brown nose, is the cuddly pup every dog lover dreams of. She was abandoned as a pup by two previous families before being adopted by our therapist Gayatri Ayyer. When she was adopted, Myshka was an overexcited pooch with high energy levels and impaired social skills. She could never sit steadily in one place and would jump at the slightest of noises or movements. A behaviour at which I would often roll my eyes.

Myshka and Gayatri in a therapy session

But after coming into this family, Myshka has found stability. Gayatri, her family, me and the Animal Angels team has worked with her to make her feel secure and loved.  Over the past few months, she has been trained to be calm, understanding and patient at work but maintains her playful nature when free, always willing to fetch that ball for you. At work she now knows how to respond to the emotional needs of the special children that she works with. Her new human family has also benefited a lot since she entered their lives. She has helped them overcome their grief over the death of their former pets. She is almost one and a half years old now, and has been with her family for a year. Her pet parent- Gayatri, says that Myshka has helped her become a better trainer and therapist.

Pearl, in some ways, is an exact opposite of Myshka. She comes off as an extremely calm and understanding young Golden Retriever, who can be very quiet , unlike a retriever pup. But this calmness is very deceiving, as she might be quietly chewing up something for all you know. I have to really keep a keen eye on her when she comes over for her training.  

Pearl with her trainer and handler, Aakash

Pearl working as a Comfort Dog at Mumbai International Airport 

The year old pup has been with the Kelkar family for 5 months now and has helped them in great ways in this short span of time. Her parent, Mr. Kelkar, knew that she was the right choice, the moment he met her for the first time at a farm in Pune. Mr. Kelkar lives with his wife and mother-in-law. With both his sons being settled abroad, and he having retired from his job, he had dedicated his time towards our work at Animal Angels. Mr. Kelkar had seen Pepe and me work since a long time, and he had always wished to have a therapy dog, not only for himself, but as a benefit for the society. When they got her home, she became a steady companion for him and his family. Mr. Kelkar’s 84 year old mother-in-law, who was initially reluctant to having a pet in the house, literally had a change of heart. Now she plans her entire day to have Pearl well cared for. Pearl has filled in the loneliness that this family felt in the house.

Pearl with Mr Kelkar

The family is now deeply attached to Pearl, and says she’s been a great emotional support to them. Pearl recently lived with Pepe and me a few days ago, when Mr. Kelkar went off overseas and we later heard him tell Aakash how she has learnt a lot from us, her seniors. He says Pearl has been the best choice and his heart swells with pride and love to see his little pooch help those children at school overcome challenges just as she did for him and his family.

Baby Milo

Milo, the Mahogany Cocker Spaniel, the only boy of the batch and the most active of them all, has a story of his own. He was abandoned as a two month old puppy! Just imagine!! Who would do that!! He was neglected by his former owners, who were first time pet owners, and had no clue how to handle a high energy pup in his teething phase. By the time he was rescued, he had developed severe trust issues with humans and had to be rehabilitated. He used to get scared whenever anyone approached him. He would be very defensive of being touched and held.

When he was adopted by the Lonkar family, little did they know that this notorious little boy had the potential to be patient and heal someone. Aakash and Sneha, his parents worked tirelessly on his behavior, with senior Therapy dog Pepe and me, as his constant companions and friends. Slowly, but steadily he started developing trust in humans around him. He turned out to have an excellent temperament when it came to working with children. His transformation from that of a scared little canine to, ‘Milo - the Monkey’; the name he currently responds to, and which describes his personality perfectly- is indeed astonishing!

Milo has been living with Pepe and me for quite some time now, and we are helping him learn our ways of being a therapy dog. Recently he debuted as a therapy dog! He did a solo session as a, at a center for mentally challenged adults. He did exceptionally well, and followed almost all the pointers that I had taught him about being in a therapy session. Pepe and me and the entire Animal Angels family was extremely proud of him. He has indeed come a long way. Its not like he's all well behaved all of a sudden. He still needs to learn a lot about patience and responding to emotions. There are still a few behavior issues that I need to iron out in him. He's still Milo - the monkey for me, but the love he has brought into the family is immeasurable.

I am Therapy Dog Goldie. Me and my team of therapy dogs work with Animal Angels Foundation, India's only organization working in the field of Animal Therapy. To know more about our work, you can log on to www.animalangels.org.in or follow us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/animalangelsfoundation

Inputs by Niharika Ravi

Bravehearts - Felicitating the Working Dogs.

 Bravehearts

11 years! Seems like a long time doesn’t it? For me, more than 10 years of service as a Therapy dog has made this time seem to fly by. It sure has been a memorable journey. 

Me (leftmost), Pepe, Sunshine and Coco

Along this journey, I have been a a friend for some, who would whisper their secrets with confidence in my ears,  and an angel for others, where I  would help them back to their feet while they fought a war they thought they were losing. A journey that has not been easy, but has always been fun. A venture that I have dedicated my heart and soul to, and always put my 200% in. These past 11 years have taught me so much about myself, my doggy friends and apprentices, my humans, and those whom I help. Sometimes I look at the new pups who train with me to be therapy dogs, how they stare at me in wonder as I endure the pain of children rolling over me or sit next to a person for hours without complaining. I wonder at these times if I was one of these novices once. Well, as you can see, I have grown since then.

Therapy Dog Sunshine with her medal and goodie bag A few weeks back, these past 11 years of hard work and perseverance, of giving love, care and support, got recognized!! Me and my fellow working Therapy dogs were awarded  nice, shiny medal by the Bombay Veterinary college. They had organized an event called 'Bravehearts' where they felicitated other working dogs like my therapy dog team.  There we met other Braveheart dogs like, the NSG (National Srcutiry Guard) Dogs, the CISF (The Central Industrial Security Force) Dogs who patrol and guard the airport, the Bomb Squad dogs, who sniff out nasty explosives and keep us safe! They had always inspired me as the awesome bomb squads and routine baggage checkers at airports and I would go green with envy when Minal read articles about their great work to me and I often pledged to become one of the best therapy dogs there is. All these dogs doing such wonderful jobs were recognized for their worth. Usually its the humans who get the recognition, but it was good to see the efforts of these working dogs being recognized. Thanks to Bombay Veterinary College for that.

Manali congratulating Sunshine

The event was memorable!! I was so happy to see the proud faces of my team. Therapy dog Pepe, Sunshine and Coco were also being felicitated and they were accompanied by their humans.  After me, Therapy dog Pepe has worked the most. She has been working on varied projects, from working with children with special needs to the latest Comfort Dog project at the Mumbai International Airport. Coco, another experienced therapy dog has worked on the pioneering pilot project of providing Animal Therapy at the David Sassoon Juvenile Delinquent Center, besides being the pillar of strength and joy of life to his parents Atul and Meghna Loke. Sunshine, the youngest but the most promising therapy dog has worked since a very young age with her parent and therapist Manali Randive on individual counseling cases. Currently she is winning hearts as a Comfort dog on the Mumbai International Airport.   

The Team

At the event, my handler Aakash, Sunshine's human Manali, Coco's parents Meghna and Atul Loke, my co-therapists Gayatri, Jai, Sneha and Bansari were all present. They were all elated and what can I say, I was certainly on cloud nine! The only people I missed were my parents Meena Srivastav, my human brother Sanket and sister Tanya and most importantly I missed Minal who raised me to be a therapy dog. And of course, I have had my mentors, foremost amongst them being Kutty, the first therapist dog of India, my inspiration. But I know that their love is always there with me.

The Team

Now the time has come for me to step back from work. The Comfort Dogs project at the airport has been a great experience and has taught me a lot. But as my age proceeds, I would like to focus more on sharing my knowledge with my junior, in-training therapy pups, who look up to me for guidance. It has been a beautiful journey and the invaluable prize at this stage has made it even more exquisite than before. 

Inputs by Niharika Ravi

To know more about me and my team's work, log on to www.animalangels.org.in

Man’s best friend is also man’s best work-out buddy

Man’s best friend is also man’s best work-out buddy


Every day on my morning walk with my human mom, we meet at least 5 other dogs and their human parents walking.  The others who walk on their own look at us with envy (at least most of them). 'I wish I had a dog who would walk me me, run with me in the morning.'

It is no surprise that we dogs love our walks, runs and play time. As creatures

that are primarily born to work for survival or to earn our keep, we often get

bored of just sitting around all day with not much stimulation and exercise.

This, I’ve noticed is a problem with our human companions as well. All this

sitting around often makes both dog and human overweight, unhealthy, stressed

out and frustrated. Additionally, a dog that is not able to use his mental and

physical energies effectively, will often become destructive, depressed, hyper-
active, attention seeking and be termed a ‘bad dog’. Little do those who are

bestowing this label realise, that the dog isn’t being ‘bad’ but is just attempting

to blow off some pent up steam. The good news is that just a few extra walks or

runs a week can easily change this. 

Even just an extra 30 minute walk a day can do wonders for both pet and owner.

Just ask Abhijeet Thakur. Abhijeet met my friend and fellow therapy dog

Scotty at the Pune Marathon and shared this inspiring story- After spending

a particularly uneventful year sitting on the couch with his pet Labrador and

finding that there was less and less space available on said couch, what with

both of them simultaneously expanding and all; Abhijeet and his dog decided to

do something about it. Now nearly a year later, they have lost a combined 35-40

kilos between the two of them, are healthier, happier, and Abhijeet even ran in a

marathon this year! Something he would have not even thought was possible.

I’ve often heard Minal say that a healthy owner often translates into a happy,

healthy dog. This is true. Research on the subject has proven that humans who

have furry companions are more likely to be fitter than those who don’t and

that those who exercise with their dogs are more likely to stick to their exercise

routines. Exercising with your dog also increases the mood-boosting benefits

of exercise even further. Exercise releases endorphins, a feel-good hormone

that contributes to a feeling of joy and well-being; interactions with dogs also

release endorphins. Now just imagine how beneficial that big double dose will

be for both dog and owner when the two activities are combined..!

So what are you waiting for? Call out to your four-legged friend and get moving

today, set up an exercise routine for the two of you. Both your dog and your

waistline will be eternally thankful..

Inputs from Prerna Singh

To know more about me and my team of therapy dogs, log on to our website www.animalangels.org.in or visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/AnimalAngelsFoundation

Women's best friend

A women is a special creation of God. No matter of what specie they are, God has made them all the same. A women has to undergo so much stress, many time it is such that she can't talk to anyone about it or share with anyone. So many times, she just needs someone who will listen to her, comfort her. Who better than a dog to provide her company in such times. We dogs won't frown to see your messy hair in the morning, nor will we judge you if you put on a bit of weight. You can talk and talk and we dogs can listen to you with out a word (with our ears perked and head tilted to add on to the cuteness). So in all a dog is not a man's best friend, but a Women's REAL best friend. I got a letter from my dear friend Bansari, with who I spent some time last year, who made me realize what difference a little time spent with dogs can do for women who are silently undergoing a lot. Lots of love, hugs and licks to you dear Bansari and hope we meet soon.

Here are few excerpts from her letter to me....

Dear Goldie….

For long, I have known that YOU (dogs) are considered to be humans’ best friends and that someone who has never interacted with dogs in his or her life has never been made to feel special through the language of unconditional love and endless attention. Coming from a typical “pets are not allowed” family, this has been a story of my life as well…but not until recently, when I was touched by an Angel in form of YOU who gratified my everlasting desire of experiencing this unconditional love and endless attention.

It was exactly a year back around this special Women’s Day that I decided to re-join Animal Angels Team and volunteer to work for one of your amazing project with a children's remand home. My eagerness to join your team was mainly in form of seeking a temporary escape route from the never-ending…nerve-cracking problems of my life. Especially from the recent added cherry on the “cake of problems”... of being diagnosed with PCOS (for those who don’t know what it is PCOS is  'polycystic ovarian syndrome') – and just as the name sounds odd and related to girly stuff…its symptoms and effects are weird enough to make a women NOT feel like a normal WOMEN herself. So while I dealt with the multiple emergency alarms of “lose weight…work out…do yoga …control your diet… take hormone tablets…I was extremely demotivated, confused and lost in the whirlpool of thoughts of what should I do and not do...would these extreme mood swings go away.

 It was 10^th March 2012, when I met you first…fully excited and eager to experience the feeling that I had heard from many of my friends and colleagues. As our work at the kids rehab center grew steadily, I got more focused on learning the therapy work and in capturing its effects on the kids that were involved. Little, did I ever focus on- how your presence was also making me feel much calmer. I only started thinking this around the 6^th therapy session with the kids, which got cancelled because of you falling ill. It was around the afternoon that day; I was sitting at home and watching TV and feeling like something was missing…or someone that I had not spoken to during the day that I usually did. It was only then I realized that, every Saturday, at this hour, I used to be with you at the rehab center waiting for kids to assemble for their play session…and while doing so I used to talk to you about different things of my life …while you silently listened and kept giving me those soothing licks and comforting eyes and all of your undivided attention. It was at this moment that I realized that YOU were having an impact on me as well and that I had found a new friend… in YOU… who gave me the unsolicited essence of friendship, trust and unbridled joy….a shoulder that did not judge me or questioned me or said “I Am BUSY …talk to you later”. Yes… we had created an emotional bond of love and a new relationship between us and you had become the new support system of my life. 

I then started thinking more about this bond and recognized that it was not just that I found a new friend in you… I also felt much more NORMAL and happier even when those nerve-cracking problems had not moved an inch away. By just petting you, I had managed to decrease my blood pressure and relieve my anxiety and I was now feeling much calmer and patient and was being able to divert my thoughts away from myself and my worries of life. It was threw learning to groom you during the therapy sessions that I was now focusing more on my own physical appearance which is extremely important for every women, especially the ones with PCOS. The bigger magic that I felt was when I realized that I had actually managed to lose some of the PCOS gifted stubborn weight... while walking and playing with you, which I was not able to do due to lack of motivation to improve my diet and exercise regime. 

Though our interaction was limited and only for those few days.…I felt those days was like the best dates of my life because I got the biggest gift from you in form of comforting answer to  the scary question that I recently had to face through PCOS Diagnosis. It was you who gave me this relief that, while I may not be able to have a complete family in future…You will always be there who I can look up to, to complete my family and make me feel a complete woman. Thank you for coming in my life and for improving my health and for providing me the everlasting motivation to love and appreciate myself and to see things in a different light. Thank you for teaching me that when you’re happy, one should dance and wag your entire body. And a big thank you showing me an alternate to those crazy workouts… in form of getting me into the habit of taking long walks which has not only helped me to improve my health but has also helped me to connect with my inner self.

Bansari 

Whoever said diamonds are girls’ best friend… I disagree to them today…because the real diamond of my life is “SHE” - Goldie…And because, I cannot have you around me all the time… I have bought this cute puppy soft toy…which reminds me of you and the wonderful magic you brought in my life… all the time!

Inputs from Bansari Pandya

To know more about me and my team of therapy dogs, log on to our website www.animalangels.org.in or visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/AnimalAngelsFoundation